Rotation indicator for hoist drums



June 10, 1952 H. w. DOW

ROTATION INDICATOR FOR HOIST DRUMS 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 Filed Sept, 25, 1946 3maentor Gttomeg mm mm w mm 1 vm M W ow rim 5 M J a H m Q @mm.- I 3 llmfi NH m vmn w m P fi wm June 10, 1952 H. w; DOW

I ROTATION INDICATOR FOR HOIST DRUMS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Sept. 23, 1946 .l. J m m W m //l Zhwentor Herberc W. Dow

(Ittomegs Patented June 10, 1952 7 2,599,815 ROTATION INDICATOR ron'nors'r DRUMS Herbert W. Dow, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Nordsberg Manufacturing 00., Milwaukee, Wis.,

a corporation of Wisconsin Application September 23, 1946, Serial No. 698,681

Claims. (01. v a-.302)

This invention relates to position indicators for hoists of the type used in mines.

In such hoists the hoisting cable is wound on a helicallygrooved drum and the position of the hoist cage is customarily indicated by a socalled miniature. This comprises a dial graduated according to levels and a hand which swings over the. dial and is driven by a motionreducing gear train from the drum. The hand indicates on this dial the position of the drum and consequently the level of the cage.

A common practice is to use two drums coaxially mounted on the same shaft and two cages each with its own cable so arranged that when the two drums turn together one cage is raised and the other is lowered. To use such an arrangement to hoist from different levels in the mine shaft only one drum can be fixed to the hoist shaft. The second drum must be clutched to the shaft and must have its own miniature. As a practical matter the clutch is at the end of the drum, and if the drums are set close together, as is commonly desirable, connection of the miniature drive for the second or clutched drum is a matter of considerable difiiculty.

The present invention offers a very simple solution of the problem, using a planetary gear train in which the planet pinion unit is journaled in the clutch spider and comprises pinions which turn together and engage respective sun gears, one on the drum and the other turning freely coaxially with the drum outside the clutch. If the ratios of the planet pinions to their respective sun gears are equal, the sun gears will have identical motion characteristics, and the second may be used to drive a miniature indicating the position of the second drum and consequently the position of its cage.

Theoretically, the planetary train could take various forms, but where the clutch spider shifts axially, its motion can be accommodated by using spur pinions and spur toothed sun gears, so dimensioned that they mesh continuously despite axial displacement of the planet pinions. Such is the preferred construction which will now be described by reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a two-drum hoist with two miniatures, one for each drum, that for the clutched drum being driven by means embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view partly in section, showing the left hand portion of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

In Fig. 1 a baseis indicated at 6. On this are mounted bearings 1 for the hoist shaft 8 which is driven by any suitable means, not shown.

Fixed on shaft 8 is a hoist drum 9 with brake drum ll formed integrally with it at its outer end. The brake which coacts with drum H is not illustrated. Freely rotatable on shaft 8 is a second hoist drum I2, which likewise has an integrally formed brake drum [3. The brakes for this drum are not illustrated. The drums 9 and I2 are closely spaced and the shaft is unsupported between bearings 1.

Drum I2 is supported by end spiders, one of which appears at M in Fig. 2. The hub of this spider turns on journal l5. The hub l6 of a clutch spider I1 is mounted on a prismatic portion l8 of shaft 8 so as to be slidable axially to engage and disengage the clutch. It is moved by a shifter not shown, but engaging groove I 9 in the hub l6 of the spider. The clutching mechanism is within bake drum l3 and may take any preferred form. To afford the simplest practicable illustration the drawings (Fig. 2) show a dental clutch, one dentated element of which is the rim of spider l1 and the other is a ring carried by spider M.

So far as the invention is concerned, the only material point as to the clutch is that spider I1 is shifted axially in one direction to connect shaft 8 and drum 2|, so that they rotate together, and is shifted in the opposite direction to release them so that they may rotate independently.

The mechanism so far described is simply one known type of hoist to which the invention may be applied.

Mounted on the hub of spider I4 of drum I2 is a flanged annulus 2| carrying a spur sun-gear 22 which is coaxial with shaft 8 and drum l2. Freely rotatable between confining flanges 23, 24 on shaft 8 outside the hub l6 of the clutch spider is a ring 25 which carries a spur sun gear 26 of the same pitch diameter as sun gear 22 and coaxial with shaft 8. The two gears are preferably indentical.

Journaled in hub IS, with its axis parallel with the axis of shaft 8 is a planet gear shaft 21 to opposite ends of which are keyed substantially identical wide-faced pinions 28 and 29 which mesh with respective sun gears throughout the axial shifting motion of spider l1.

Because of the planetary gear train above described ring 25 always reproduces the rotary motion of drum 12, whether the clutch be eneased or not.

35 is conventional and comprises a series of shafts 36 connected by miter gears in gear boxes 31.

The dial of the miniature for drum 9 appears at 38 in Fig. 1 and the hand at 39. A gear 4| on shaft 8 and a pinion 42 drive the hand 39 by connections essentially identical with those already described.

The use of a spur type planetary train, wit

wide faced gears, is important where the planet gears are mounted in an axially shiftable part. Either gear of a meshing pair, or both, could obviously be wide, so long as continuous meshing is assured. Weight is saved by making the small pinions wide faced, which is the reason for adopting the proportions shown.

Other types of planetary train can be evolved, some but not all of which are adaptable to constructions in which the planet gears must shift axially.

Consequently, the illustrated arrangement is described as the simplest and best, without, however, implying strict limitation of the invention thereto. A similar problem may arise where the clutch spider does not shift, a condition which would broaden the range of selection of planetary trains.

What is claimed is:

1. Means affording a continuous indication of the rotary movements of a first rotary member, at the remote end of a second and coaxial rotary member which at times rotates with and at other times rotates relatively to the first rotary member, comprising in combination with said rotary members a sun gear coaxial and turning trains being equal.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 in which the the sun gears are spur gears of equal 5- pitch diameters, and the planet gears are of equal pitch diameter and are connected to turn 4 as a unit on an axis parallel with the common axis of the two rotary members.

3. Means affording a continuous indication of the rotary movements of a first rotary member at the remote end of a second and coaxial rotary member which at times rotates with and at other times rotates relatively to the first rotary member, and is capable also of limited axial motion in the direction of the common axis of rotation toward and from the first rotary member, comprising in combination with said rotary members, a spur sun gear mounted coaxially with the first rotary member to turn therewith; a second and freely rotatable spur sun gear of the same pitch diameter as the first sun gear coaxial therewith and situated beyond that end of the second rotary member which is remote from the first rotary member; a pair of spur planet gears connected to turn at equal angular velocities and carried by the second rotary member in positions to mesh with respective sun gears, the ratios of the two sunplanet trains being equal; means serving to maintain meshed engagement of both planet gears with their respective sun gears irrespective of axial motion of the second rotary member; and means for indicating rotary motion of the second sun gear.

4. The combination defined in claim 3 in which one gear of each sun-planet train has a face sufiiciently wide to accommodate the axial motion of the second rotary member while the gears remain meshed.

5. The combination defined in claim 3 in which the planet gears have each a face sufficiently wide to accommodate the axial motion of the second rotary member while remaining meshed with its sun gear.

HERBERT W. DOW.

REFERENiJES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 404,983 Rivers June 11, 1889 1,102,603 Morgan July 7, 1914 2,288,229 Dick June 30, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 1,125 Great Britain Mar. 20, 1879 316,655 Germany Nov. 1, 1919 499,770 France Nov. 28, 1919 545,333 Germany Feb. 29, 1932 798,024 France July 7, 1914 "we r 

